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June 23, 2022
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And yes, we do have a workshop on the 30th. At the Cesar Chavez location where we held Study Hall. I'll slap together some terms for participation and post them soon.

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I love Boston terriers. My daughter just lost her BT a few months back. They’re such sweet little munchkins.

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When my parents urge me to get married and have children, while still young, I tell them I'm getting a couple terriers instead. Then they give me this ''You are sillly'' look. Been my dream since seeing the Mask as a kid. Smart dogs, lot better than humans.

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June 23, 2022
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Nah, I'll pass.

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I love terriers. Theyre amazing dogs, but require a lot of stimulation.

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They're worth having. They look so fearless and full of life.

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6 months of bug battling and deriving endogenous opioids from the sun. I love it. Just learned that youre related to Jack Palance, and that he knocked out Brando.

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I knew there was a reason I loved Sudden Fear with Jack Palance and Joan Crawford!

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Jack was the man. He had that unusual face because of a car accident and plastic surgery afterward. His real name was Wladimir Palahniuk. Jack also did one handed pushups after winning an oscar in the 90s. He was 72.

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Oh yeah! I remember that! The man!

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That's the only real way to win an Oscar

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The bugs always win. I've read somewhere that Cockroaches have become resistant to Insecticides. And the fact they originated more than 280 million years ago, filthy but determined creatures.

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Gotta hand it to em. Theyre survivors. Ticks too. My sweet one eyed cat brings a fresh batch of tiny nymph deer ticks to crawl onto me each morning. I put them under the flame of a grill lighter. Their entrails turn to steam as their legs char and burn off. The steam bloats them and they go shooting off. There is nothing more satisfying than setting those little diseased vampires on fire.

For the record, I am nice to most insects. I leave spiders be or relocate them. Have several photos and videos of jumping spiders hanging out in my hand. Love bees too. I just take pleasure in destroying the vampiric and annoying flying ones that want to feast on my blood, eye fluids, earwax, and skin grease/salt.

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Jack Palance is my second cousin. I correspond with his daughter on a semi-regular basis.

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Happy Shuffling, good sir! 😊

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Thanks for all your help, Chuck. I'm plowing through my revisions this summer to pitch the novel at the PNWA conference in September. Fortunately, I bought a portable AC unit so I can hole up in my Seattle condo when the heat wave hits.

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Best of luck! It's pretty darn hot over here :( but the days are sunny.

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Although I realize this is impossible, it would be fascinating to witness this process happening. When reading, it would never occur to me that the chapters could be any other way.

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I’ve always wondered about the shuffling part. It’s gotta be so fun. I’m almost to that on mine. If you ever did a post on that, I’d probably read it way too many times haha.

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That would be an interesting post.

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I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard you talk about this aspect of writing. I’ve recently come to the realization that I have to do the exact same thing (print out the pages or chapters and lay them all out on the floor) in order to fully visualize the story line. I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone else doing this. I just did it for the first time with my last story and although I felt like a bad actor playing small town investigator, I think it worked better. Do you always wait to do this at the very end? Or do you do it with individual chapters and/or smaller chunks of the story?

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At this point does anyone else see it, or do you make it air tight and send it back in?

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Old school! I love Scivener’s cork board for that stage... fewer trees have to die!

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Writing is not just editing, it's shuffling.

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I write all my stuff on blank decks of cards.

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You do not, Joker! Or do you?

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How big is your table to hold 58 chapters at once?

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Kitchen table seats twelve, so it could hold 90 chapters if required.

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Most impressive! The force is strong with you.

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You did the math? Post on pile of pages to table seating ratio when?

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Sending love to Egg and to your book! Thank you for sharing your methods and life with all of us. I can’t believe it’s almost been a year already since all this started! Man, did “Greener Pastures” get wild! WOW!! You weren’t kidding when you told me it would. Here’s me after last week— 😳 🍩🍩🍩

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June 23, 2022
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I am "half starved". I was reading it every week until about halfway through when some life stuff ate my free time, and then I decided to let it build up to a big read.

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Almost a year?!? Say it ain't so. I really hope this substack carries on after a year. I'm sure we'd all be happy to pay even without a serialised novel, right? I will miss it dearly otherwise. But obviously would completely understand if Chuck's too busy, it's amazing that he's done something like this in the first place ❤

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Wow. I never pictured this process. It sounds so cathartic. I assume this is the payoff for writing self contained chapters (if that's the right word?), the ability to splice the plot? How exciting. I hope one day to be able to do the same. Enjoy & I hope Egg enjoyed her dinner - she's like a celebrity in your local shops, getting treats and breaking all the "no dogs allowed" rules. 😁

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I appreciate this post immensely.

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